#< mostly

base information:

the basic theory is that there are 9 base types of motivation+fear, each simply labeled 1-9. these 9 are broken up into triads:

ignore the poor image. triads show the defining expression and emotion of each type; gut is instinct and anger, mind is thought and fear, heart is feeling and shame. each type deals with these things differently, but theyre all heavily affected by them.

as a quick summary, each types dominant emotion and motivation! note that these descriptions will come off negative, enneagrams appeal to the most flawed parts of people, but its more than possible to be healthy in any type.

heart triad:

a type 2 is driven by a want to be wanted. their desire to be important is often more about being useful, helping others, mostly emotionally. this can stem from seeing themself as inherently worthless unless they are benefiting others. they genuinely care for those around them and want to express that by being enjoyable and emotionally useful, though this can often lean into people pleasing or shifting themselves for the sake of being liked.

a type 3 is focused on material success and how others view them, driven by a want to be tangibly successful and valuable. they often repress themselves into what they view as a successful person and/or into what they think others want to see from them. they appear outwardly confident and even egocentric, but are often insecure and doubting. they push themselves to be the best.

a type 4 is filled with self doubt and pity. at their worst they are defined by their negative experiences, often wallowing because they dont know how else to handle it. they can easily feel like its impossible to get better and they will always be tied down to their suffering. theyre fearful that they dont have their own identity and are only the worst parts of themselves. they often want to find themselves, turning themselves into somebody entirely new, using their suffering to push them forward and to create something better (often artistically). they can struggle focusing on anything else or maintaining their relationships with others.

mind triad:

a type 5 is driven by knowledge and a want to be competent/independent. they want to know as much as they can so they dont have to rely on anything or anyone else, theyre inherently detached from reality yet fixated on knowing as much as they can about it. they may want to be more connected and social but simply not know how to be. this mindset often comes from genuine love for and interest in the world they live in, but being let down by those around them to the point they feel they need to be self sufficient.

a type 6 is reliant on stability from those around them and what they believe in. theyre very anxious and wary of others, which they will either turn into repression (pushing themselves down to fit something like authority or rules) or rebelliousness (actively going against the status quo for what they believe in). theyre driven by a want for security and often control, relying on a ruleset or strict perspective. they will defend and fight for their beliefs, family, friends way more than they will fight for themselves. its often they will rely on either authority or community for their entire sense of self, being more loyal to those things than they are to themselves; contrasting a type 1, they believe in what they think is right but they are often willing to change themselves for it.

a type 7 is very scattered, driven by a want for variety and something new. they tend to run themselves thin trying to find new experiences. this is often a way to try and escape pain, turning to excitement to distract from anything negative. they fear boredom and simply having nothing to do with themselves. this want for excitement is likely to be a way to compensate for lack of autonomy or purpose in life, trying to fill their life with anything they can to feel like its worthwhile.

gut triad:

a type 8 is driven by a want for control, particularly over other people. theyre deeply afraid of others controlling or harming them so they try and be the first to do so to others. they want to prove themselves as strong and independent, they focus on being the one deciding everything and the one having others follow them. when unhealthy, this is often caused by a 'hurt people hurt people' situation, theyve been below others in the past and want to fight to avoid being that again, sometimes to the point of harming others to push themselves up. they live by the logic that if they are above then they are untouchable, and they will be able to always, entirely protect what they care for. theyve developed a very strong willpower and sense of endurance to sustain this mindset.

a type 9 is driven by a want for stability and peace. they often ignore themselves for the sake of keeping everything stable and stagnant. theyre often resistant to change even when itd be beneficial, wanting everything to stay the same simply because its what theyre used to. theyre very strongly conflict averse and will often refuse to engage with anything troubling or serious. these are the types with the most variety, they can really seem like anything, going with the flow just to avoid anything inconvenient.

a type 1 is driven by a want to change and reform. they have a strong sense of right and wrong, and a strong desire to fix what they deem as immoral or ineffective. they are often driven by repressed anger, turning their resentment towards what they see as wrong into motivation to change. theyre scared of being seen as defective or corrupt. integrity is often important to them, wanting to improve while still staying true to themselves and their values.

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alright! that was the hefty part, the rest of this is just going to be elaboration and additional rules.

wings:

wings are pretty simple, they go with a persons core type to elaborate on how they express that core. a wing can only be either numbers next to your type; example, I, a core 5, could either have wing 4 or wing 6. im a 5w4, so I express my want for knowledge (yet detachment from reality) through connecting it to my suffering, trying to turn my negative experiences into something new with my knowledge.

instincts:

there are 3 instincts: self preservation, social, and sexual. every person will have some level of all 3, one will be the main focus, one will be a secondary instinct to support/impact the main, another will be a less developed blind spot of sorts.

self preservation dominant people focus on physical needs and wants, housing, food, the like. they can still care for their social life, they will just naturally be more focused on tangible wellbeing and satisfaction. they will often be more introverted or practical than the other two instincts. they are focused on shifting their environment to fit them.

social dominant people shift themselves to meet the needs of their environment, contrasting self-pres. theyre very focused on knowing what others want and expect, and are willing to push themselves into that role for them. they want to have long-term contact with the people around them and long to impact the communities they inhabit.

sexual dominant people are not inherently or exclusively focused on one-on-one or romo/sexual relationships, this instinct will often affect their entire life and all of their relationships. theyre focused on having intense, personal relationships with people, they feel like they need to be one with the people around them and will often be disappointed if other people cant match their energy and deep want for closeness.

this instinct affects the person's type, example, im a social dominant (sexual secondary) 5w4, so I am focused on being important socially with / because of my knowledge. the shortenings for instincts are sp, so, and sx.

these instincts affect each type so heavily that each instinct+type combination warrants its own explanation, but that would need its own separate post.

tritypes:

disclaimer: this section is a secondary build upon the main core theory. some will disagree with this and say it should not count as part of enneagrams, I personally believe there is merit but its important to note this wasnt part of the original concept.

a tritype is simply 2 other types added onto the core+wing. these 2 types are other options when the core+wing do not work for any reason, theyre like last resorts.

each additional part of a tritype, called the 2nd and 3rd fix, has to be from a separate triad. example, my core 5 is from the mind triad, so my 2nd fix is from the heart triad, and my 3rd is from the gut triad. there can not be 2 mind triads (or etc) in the same tritype, you can relate to other types in the mind triad but it will be unbalanced to put in the tritype.

example, I am a so539, this number will always be written in order of importance. I want to be valued for my intelligence and knowledge, if I can not be solely for that then I want to be valued for my success, and if I cant be successful then I want to be valued for being socially palatable and enjoyable.

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thats most of it! there are secondary elaborations and theories but those arent as impactful as the above.